Table of Contents: :: Library Catalog

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Karlsson, Teemu, Kauppila, Tommi, Hokka, Janne, Kinnunen, Matti
Format:	Recurso digital
Language:	English
Published:	Zenodo 2023
Online Access:	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17947750
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Table of Contents:

Introduction to extractive waste Global demand for minerals and metals is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades due to clean energy transition. At the same time more emphasis is placed on supply, security, and environmental issues which has led to more interest in extractive waste as a source of secondary resources. The amounts of extractive waste, which include e.g., waste rocks and tailings, are large. In Finland alone, around 100 Mt of extractive waste is being produced annually, forming 74 % of the total amount of all waste streams. Since the 16th century, around 1 113 Mt of waste rock has been mined at Finnish mines, of these 96 % during 1969-2021 and around half during the last ten years. The amount of tailings, that have been generated by metal mining since the flotation process was adapted in Finland in 1911, is estimated at over 500 Mt.   Extractive waste as secondary resource in Finland The level of utilization of extractive waste as a source of secondary resources is low in Finland, as also in global scale. The current utilization consists mainly of using waste rocks in earth construction and cavity filling at the active mine sites. One key aspect preventing utilization is the lack of systematic national resource management of extractive waste. Resource management would require information concerning e.g., generation, amount, location, and quality of the extractive waste. Although some usable information exists, it is scattered (deposit data, risk assessments, compliance monitoring by authorities) and an incentive to collect it, not to mention a central database where to store the information, is missing. In new mining projects, the utilization of extractive waste should be investigated and planned in an early phase. Old extractive waste sites provide new attractive targets as the beneficiation processes were not as efficient as today and may contain valuable commodities which were not detected by contemporary analytical methods or were considered to have no economic value during the life of mine. In general, the resource potential of closed extractive waste sites has not been studied. Of the 10 largest (by total extraction) closed Finnish mine sites, which include Outokumpu-Keretti (total extraction 34.9 Mt), Otanmäki (33.1 Mt), Vihanti (30.8 Mt), Vuonos (15.6 Mt), Kotalahti (13.7 Mt), Rautuvaara (12.9 Mt), Laukunkangas (8.4 Mt), Hammaslahti (7.9 Mt), Raajärvi (7.8 Mt), Saattopora (5.7 Mt) and Hällinmäki (5.3 Mt), only the Otanmäki tailings area has been investigated for remining potential. The Otanmäki Mine Oy started the investigations at the waste site in 2017. The investigations include systematic drilling and sampling, resource modelling, and pilot-scale beneficiation tests at GTK Mintec.   FutuRaM project in enhancing the resource management of extractive waste The Horizon Europe project Future Availability of Secondary Raw Materials (FutuRaM) is tackling some of the challenges related to the utilization and management of extractive waste. The aim of the project is to construct a database on the quality, availability, and recoverability of secondary raw materials within the European Union. Furthermore, the project will establish a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance for sustainable management of secondary raw materials projects in the future. Finnish extractive waste sites will be included in the database through GTK, which is one of the 28 partners implementing the project during 2022-2026. In the FutuRaM database, the secondary resources will be classified according to the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC), which is a global classification system for sustainable management of energy and mineral resource endowments. Finland is the first country in Europe to classify and unify its primary mineral resources according to the UNFC system, which forms a solid base to make similar classification for secondary resources. The Otanmäki tailings facility, in where the UNFC classification was also applied, serves as a case site in the FutuRaM project and an example for future utilization projects.   Summary Large amounts of extractive waste exist and is being produced annually. Information about the resource potential of extractive waste is scattered and lacking. Therefore, more systematic investigations of old mine waste sites is needed, and the utilization of future extractive wastes should be better considered in an early phase of the mining project. The FutuRaM project will develop a database, methodology and guidance to improve resource management and utilization potential of secondary raw materials in Europe.

Similar Items